Return to the Digital World 2: Turning Tides
by SeaSpectre160
Summary: The new Warrior of Water doesn't want to be a Legendary Warrior, but then most of the team is snatched by an evil Digimon, and with everyone else out of reach, she is the only one who can help Kouji save them. Will she accept her destiny? Part 2/9.
1. Fighting Destiny

I am so glad I can finally post this!

**Here's part 2 of my 'Return to the Digital World' Series: Turning Tides! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon. **

**CLAIMER: I own (in order of appearance) Lexi, Mitzuki, Kyousuke, Juan, Umeko, and the two mysterious Digimon. **

**'Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepard. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.' ~ Nehemiah 8:10**

* * *

"Lexi?" Aunt Mitzuki was rapping loudly on the guest bedroom door. "You awake?" Lexi was awake, but she didn't answer. She hadn't slept all night, and now lay on her bed with her sheets strewn all over the place. So much had happened the previous day, and it'd kept her up all night, thinking.

After getting mugged and losing her purse, she'd received a mysterious text message on her cell phone. It'd instructed her to take a train from Shibuya Station, the local train terminal. There'd only been nine other teens on board. Six of them – Takuya, Tomoki, Izumi, Junpei, and the twins Kouji and Kouichi – all told some crazy tale about monsters and another dimension they'd travelled to, supposedly. Lexi hadn't believed a word of this, until they'd arrived at their destination: the Digital World, the very same alternate dimension from the story. To make things even weirder, they'd encountered a bunch of strange creatures called Digimon that'd insisted she had to help save the universe or something. Oh, and the train could talk, too. Even after she saw Takuya, Kouji, and one of the other kids, Kyousuke, being transformed into magical warriors, she still didn't want any part of it. It just wasn't possible; it wasn't even plausible!

The other three kids' agreeing to join surprised her a little. Not so much Shinya, Takuya's little brother, but Kyousuke and Juan? She'd had Kyousuke pegged as a guy more focused on logic, not insanity. And Juan had nearly wet himself at every turn of the journey; how could he not run away from it like she had? Lexi had only come to Japan to stay with her aunt and uncle for the year. Whatever her so-called 'destiny' was, it was back home in Toronto. Not Japan, and **definitely** not the Digital World.

"Lexi?"

"Yeah?" she mumbled, still deep in thought.

"Come on, we're going shopping." Shopping. That woke her up. **Finally**, something to get her mind off this Digital World business!

* * *

"It seems that Mantimon was not strong enough to handle the Legendary Warriors. Go, my servant, hunt them down, and bring me their spirits."

A large, monstrous Digimon hissed and slipped into the water, anxious to complete her task.

"But when you have them, bring them to me alive. Then you may do what you wish."

* * *

"Lexi, what do you think of this?" This was nerve-wracking, that's what this was. Of all the boutiques in the country, why did Aunt Mitzuki have to take her to **this** one? Why, why, **why**? It wasn't that the merchandise was out of style; it was some of the cutest clothing she'd ever seen. The store's location was the problem: it was in a decent neighbourhood, sure, but it was only two blocks away, according to the road map, from a certain meeting she was trying to **avoid**. What if one of the guys saw her on her way there? They would probably ask if she was coming, or worse, offer to give her a lift. She had a sneaking suspicion Takuya and Junpei would be more than happy to, and the others were just too nice to let her **walk** all the way there. Then Aunt Mitzuki would probably say something like: "Oh, go on. Hang with your friends, Lexi." And Lexi would be stuck with all of them, making plans for some war in another dimension she wanted nothing to do with.

"Lexi?" Oh yeah. Back to the present. Aunt Mitzuki was holding a green silk skirt, her dark blue, almost black eyes sparkling.

"It's okay," Lexi commented. She would've added more, but she was too distracted right now, something Aunt Mitzuki immediately picked up on.

"What's on your mind, hon?"

"N-nothing, really. I'm just… kind of hungry." It was a total lie – she was still stuffed from breakfast – but it was better than what was really bothering her.

"Well, there's a great café next door. How about we go there?" Lexi silently nodded. Aunt Mitzuki put the skirt back on the rack and led her out. The sky was dull and grey, not exactly lightening her mood. It looked like it was going to rain soon. Lexi hoped it wouldn't; she hated getting wet. To make matters worse, a very familiar black car had pulled up in front of her.

* * *

"Let me guess, you're a friend of Izumi's?" Orimoto Umeko asked the sixth teen who'd come to the door. This one was a tall boy with sandy brown hair and eyes. At his surprised nod, she opened the door all the way. "Come on in, they're all upstairs. Just follow the voices." The boy nodded and smiled politely, then dumped his shoes on the mat with all the others and walked up the steps. Grabbing the plate of apple slices she'd prepared for the ever-growing amount of guests, Umeko followed him. She had to admit, she had an ulterior motive for going up there. She didn't like the idea of her teenaged daughter being left alone with six boys.

When she went in, an odd scene was laid out before her. Four of the boys were sitting in a circle on the floor with a map of an unfamiliar area spread out in the middle. Izumi and the boy from down the street, Miura Kyousuke, watched from the bed, lying side-by-side on their stomachs with their feet in the air. Four stuffed animals – which Umeko could almost swear had been moving – were propped up around them.

"Apple slices, anyone?" she asked. Everyone stood up, each thanking her and taking a small handful. The new arrival was held back by Kyousuke and the one who'd arrived driving a beat-up red sportscar with his little brother.

"Hey Junpei," one of the younger ones complained, "save some for the others."

"They'll survive, Tomoki," Junpei said, shrugging and popping the fruit into his mouth one piece at a time.

"Oh, there are more people coming?" Umeko asked, hoping they didn't hear the strain in her voice.

"Yeah. Kouji, Kouichi, and Lexi." Great. Two more boys. At least another girl would be joining them. Still, she was going to have a little chat with Izumi when they all went home.

The doorbell rang again, and Umeko hurried downstairs to answer it. It had to be Kouji and Kouichi, because two more teenaged guys – identical twins, by the looks of it – were waiting on the front step. She forced a smile as she pointed them upstairs. One odd thing she noticed was that as he was going up, one of them, the one with the bandana and the irritated attitude, made a sudden grabbing motion, as if he was wrestling with his backpack. His brother chuckled nervously and carefully pushed him onward. What were they hiding?

* * *

Earlier

_"You sure this is the right way, Kouichi?"_

_"For the hundredth time, yes!" Kouichi glanced **again** at the directions lying beside him. He really had no idea where he was going **at all**. But he wasn't going to let Kouji know that. His twin was already irritated enough. He hadn't slept well (hell, he didn't get any sleep at all), and they were lost – not to mention ten minutes behind schedule._

_Neemon wasn't helping one bit. He kept asking them: "Are we there yet?" Which would've been okay, if he hadn't been asking them every – single – minute. And while Kouichi was having absolutely no trouble holding his temper, effectively zoning the Digimon out by focusing on the road, he knew Kouji was about **this** close to losing it. "Are we there yet?" And… boom._

_"No, we're not! Just stop asking! We'll get there when we get there, got it?" Yep, just like he'd predicted. Luckily Neemon was used to this sort of reaction from Bokomon, so he merely cocked his head curiously. Kouji huffed and crossed his arms. "Nii-san, **please** tell me we're almost there yet."_

_"Um…" Kouichi mumbled, "I don't really know." He braced himself for a second explosion, but Kouji just groaned in frustration and tugged his bandana over his eyes._

_"Well, wake me up when we are."_

_A familiar figure caught Kouichi's eye. "Hey, isn't that Lexi?" The redhead was coming out of a nearby store. Twisting the wheel, he pulled up in front of her, rolling down the window._

_"K-Kouichi?" she stammered, "Kouji? What are you guys doing here?" A woman with short dark brown hair wandered over._

_"Lexi, who are you talking to?" she asked, glancing at the twins._

_Lexi rolled her eyes. "Just some people I met yesterday, Aunt Mitzuki. I'll only be a minute, alright?" Mitzuki nodded and went into the café behind them. Lexi glared at the twins. "Look, I'm going to be very clear on this: I don't want **anything** to do with the stuff that happened yesterday, got it? I'm not coming to your little meeting, and nothing you two say will change my mind."_

_"What?" Kouichi cried. Kouji shoved his bandanna back out of his face to stare at her. "But you're one of us! This is your destiny!"_

_"I don't believe in destiny, Kouichi."_

_"Really?" Kouji interjected, "Up until yesterday, you didn't believe in alternate dimensions, did you?"_

_"It doesn't matter. Whatever happens in the Digital World is not my problem. If the rest of you want to put **yourselves** in danger for it, then that's your choice. But don't expect **me** to get involved." She crossed her arms and marched away._

_Kouichi couldn't believe it. After what'd happened the day before, how could she **not** accept her destiny?_

_"Hey!" Kouji called after her, "Do you at least know the way? Nii-san here got us lost!"_

_"Oh, so we're blaming it all on me now, are we?" Kouichi commented. Kouji gave him a look that plainly said: 'Duh!' Lexi pointed in one direction over her shoulder before going inside. It was the direction the boys had just come from. Kouichi turned the car around and took a look at the street sign on the next corner. "Oh, **there's** Argyle Street!"_Kouji felt a bit relieved when they'd **finally** found Izumi's house. It was easy to spot with Junpei's pickup and Takuya's car parked out front. However, he was still pretty agitated, from Neemon's whining and Kouichi getting them lost, but it was mostly Lexi that bugged him. Did she really think she could just walk away from all this?

* * *

Izumi's mom answered the door politely and pointed the twins up to Izumi's room. She nearly spotted Neemon sticking his head out of Kouji's backpack – to say hello, unbelievably – but Kouji shoved him back in quickly enough. "We are **never** babysitting Neemon **again**," he announced as he entered Izumi's room. Everyone looked up in mild surprise.

"Jeez, Kouji," Takuya commented, "Looks like **someone** got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Actually, that's not true. I didn't even go to bed last night. Neemon kept us up all night, saying he was hungry. He even tried to sneak downstairs a couple times!" Kouichi nodded, having only gotten three hours of sleep himself. "Then on the drive here, he kept asking if we were there yet. He started before we even left the driveway!" Kouji sat down between Tomoki and Juan, who wisely scooted away. "And to top it all off, we got lost, and then we ran into Lexi, who says she's not even coming!" He took a deep breath, having finished his tirade.

"So…" Izumi began carefully, "Did Lexi say **why** she isn't coming?"

"She says she doesn't want any part in this whole thing," Kouichi explained, "Apparently, she doesn't believe in destiny."

"Is she serious?" Takuya asked, "Or is she just crazy? She can't just run away from all this!"

"We can talk about that later," Bokomon interrupted, "Right now, we have to discuss our plans for the future."

"Right," Shinya agreed, "We don't need her, anyway."

"I wouldn't take it that far, boy." He sighed. "You remind me of your brother when this began. Trust me, he and Kouji didn't like each other one bit."

"You got that right," Kouji added, remembering all their countless arguments.

Izumi got up off the bed and walked over to her desk, doing her best not to step on anyone. She fished around in one of the drawers until producing a sheet of stickers. "Now, I know these are a bit kiddie," she apologized, "but they'll have to do." She sat down by Bokomon's map of the Digital World. "Okay, now which one's Flame Terminal?" When Bokomon pointed it out, she stuck three happy-face stickers around the spot, red, white, and brown. "These represent the Human Spirits of Flame, Light, and Earth."

"And we found the Human Spirit of Ice in the Candlemon Gorge," Tomoki added, prodding a nearby area. Izumi placed a green smiley-face there. "The Wind Spirit was at Breezy Village, and the Thunder Spirit was at the Wind Factory." A pink sticker and a yellow one were stuck on their respective points.

"Where's the Forest Terminal again?" Kouji asked, "I remember there were three Best Spirits around the nearby cove."

"But it's so big," Junpei complained, "We don't have time to search the entire cove."

"Maybe we should just get the ones we already know about?" Juan shyly suggested, "And worry about the other Spirits later?"

"Good idea," Takuya announced, "We'll go for the closest ones to Flame Terminal first, since for all we know, that spot may be the only passage between our world and the Digital World. Now all we need to do is work out a time."

"How about now?" Junpei suggested, "I've got nothing better to do today." A chorus of agreements came up from the others.

"Then it's settled. We're going back to the Digital World!"

* * *

**Just so you know, I'm not trying to portray Kouji as a guy with anger management issues. He just didn't get any sleep, and that can make even the nicest person into a total crab. I personally think this is my longest chapter - no, wait... the chapters in my 'Shadow or Light? Continuation' were longer. The story was longer, and it was only divided into three chapters instead of four. **

**"We must cherish our inheritance. We must preserve our nationality for the youth of our future." ~ Loius Riel. **


	2. A Second New Spirit

**Okay, here's chapter 2! I have to be honest, this isn't my favourite chapter. Not that it sucks or anything, it was just REALLY hard to write and not make it sound totally awkward. For everyone on March Break, I hope you're having fun, because the first half of mine was ruined by a VERY bad cold.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon.**

**CLAIMER: I own Juan, his parents, Kyousuke, Lexi, The Master, and the seven-headed freakazoid.**

**"Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more." ~ Job 8:20-22**

* * *

Juan felt sick to his stomach. That was partially because he was in a car with **Takuya** at the wheel, but also because of where they were heading. He didn't blame Lexi for wanting to leave; this whole business was scary. Back in his hometown, he lived in a very safe neighbourhood where no one could get hurt or anything. But in the Digital World, threats lurked everywhere. He knew he sounded paranoid, but it really was dangerous. His mother always warned him about the many dangers in everyday life, some of them a bit irrational. He still followed all the safety instructions that made sense: he buckled up, wore a lifejacket whenever he was near deep water, and only ate the one hundred percent nutritious lunches she made for him. How would she react to what he was doing now? He bet she would probably scream and beg him to get out of the car.

Juan wished he'd gone in one of the other cars. At least Junpei and Kouichi were sane drivers (Okay, Junpei was closer to sane than Takuya). It was a surprise Takuya didn't get pulled over already. Juan could only imagine what would happen if the officer who caught them was his own father. Now he understood why Shinya had insisted on going with the twins. Of course, it still bugged Juan that **he** had to be his replacement. Tomoki was up in the front passenger's seat, gripping the seat so hard he'd probably leave dents in the upholstery.

They reached Shibuya Station within the hour, and Juan felt himself wishing his parents had just said no. Kouichi pulled into a parking space halfway across the lot and clambered out with Kouji and Shinya. Looking at the condition of Takuya's front bumper, Juan figured he probably would've done the same. Junpei, Izumi, and Kyousuke arrived a couple minutes later in Junpei's truck, also parking **far** away.

"Come on," Takuya announced, "Time's a-wastin', let's go!" Kouji gave him a light shove as he passed, clearly annoyed.

They were all soon crammed in the elevator. Juan braced himself as they suddenly accelerated, going far down beneath the marked floors. He knew it was part of the trip, but it still made him nauseous. It wasn't **his** fault he got motion sickness easily. The ride on the Trailmon was fine; everyone just chatted amongst themselves, except for Juan, who just stared out the window. They were ready when the bumpy part came this time. Juan grabbed the side of the bench to keep himself from falling over. He took a look at his reflection in the window, and saw a lean creature made entirely out of vines, only a pair of deep green eyes peeking out. A second later, he was back to his normal self.

So that was what he would turn into. _"What'll it be like to Spirit Evolve?"_ he wondered, _"Will it be painful? Or is it more like a sugar rush? Granted, I've never **eaten** sugar in my life."_ He sidled over to Tomoki. "Hey, Tomoki?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"What's Spirit Evolving like?"

Tomoki seemed stumped at the question. "Um, I don't really know how to answer that, dude. I guess it… it kind of makes you feel like you've suddenly become stronger than you used to be, like you can do anything."

Juan's eyes widened in surprise. "It sounds incredible."

"Well, you see, I was kind of the baby of the group last time. I was scared and alone without my mom and dad, but then I got my first Spirit, and soon I started depending more on myself than other people. Of course, I still had to rely on the others a lot. But I didn't mind. They needed me to watch their backs, too."

"You guys are all really good friends, aren't you?"

"Yeah. It's kinda funny, really. If you take a bunch of kids who wouldn't even talk to each other in the school hallway, and put them in charge of saving an entire world, they'll eventually become inseparable no matter what."

"Maybe, but I bet the six of **you** just clicked when you first met."

"What made you think that?"

"Well, you guys get along so well now, there couldn't have been any problems with you friendship before."

Tomoki actually burst out laughing. Juan could only stare at him. His guess wasn't **that** ridiculous, was it? "Are you kidding?" Tomoki stuttered as soon as he stopped laughing, "You have no idea how many issues we had. The worst was Kouji and Kouichi's problems with Dusk-" He stopped suddenly, growing serious. Juan noticed that the twins were both listening in, giving Tomoki a warning look. "No, I shouldn't be telling you about that."

"About what? Why not?"

"It was just a really hard time for us, especially those two, and I don't think they really want me blabbing about it. But I'm sure they'll tell you newer guys when they're ready to face it again."

"It was that bad?"

"You have no idea."

Kouji and Kouichi both had dark looks on their faces as they stared out the window, suddenly very quiet.

* * *

"That sure is a long way down," Juan commented, looking over the edge of the gorge, "We're not really **climbing** down there, are we?"

Takuya was a little concerned over that kid's reluctance to do anything that involved a tiny bit of risk. But they'd fix that in time. After all, they'd already convinced Kyousuke to be a little more open-minded. "Don't worry," he teased, "If you fall, there's a river you can land in at the bottom."

Juan just got even more nervous. "B-but I can't swim!" he whimpered.

"Quit scaring the guy, Takky," Kouji said threateningly, heading for the trail, "Now are we going or what?"

They reached the bottom of the gorge in no time, and were greeted by a swarm of Candlemon.

"The Legendary Warriors have returned!" the Elder Candlemon announced to his cheering people.

"Much better reception than last time, huh?" Takuya whispered to Izumi, who nodded enthusiastically. This was a **huge** improvement compared to that surprise attack.

"Nice to see you guys too," Tomoki greeted them, "But we could really use some help."

"There are some new evil Digimon popping up,"_Izumi_ explained, "and we need to get all the Spirits back in order to stop them. They've all returned to their old hiding places. So, we thought it'd be great if we could visit some our friends and still get our jobs done at the same time."

"My Ice Spirit hasn't shown up here, hasn't it?"

The Elder grinned. "Why yes, actually. It reappeared just last week, along with another one much like it." The teens exchanged glances. Another Spirit? Whose was it? Juan, Shinya, Lexi, or maybe Kouchi?

"Well then," Takuya announced, "Let's get Tomoki's Spirit back and figure out who gets the other one."

The others shrugged nonchalantly. Izumi, however, turned and headed back up the trail. "Good luck, then," she called over her shoulder, "I'll go on to Breezy Village to grab my Spirit and meet you guys back at Flame Terminal, okay? Seeya!" She winked and started running up to where Angler sat waiting somewhat patiently.

"Hey, wait up!" Kyousuke shouted, chasing after her and waving goodbye to the others. "I'll come with you!"

"Now what are we waiting for?" Tomoki insisted, hurrying over to where the Candlemon had pointed. Takuya and everyone else laughed and started to follow him across the river on stepping stones.

It was unnaturally cold in that nearby ice cave, but, just like the Candlemon had said, there were – not one – but **two** Spirits floating side-by-side. Tomoki quickly claimed his own, but there was still the question of whom the other Spirit belonged to. The only thing Takuya could determine was that it was neither of Kouichi's Spirits of Darkness. "So how do we tell?" Junpei asked the room in general. Everyone looked at Takuya, clearly expecting him to come with a brilliant answer. He racked his brains for a solution, but came up with nothing. _'Crap.'_

Luckily, Shinya came to his brother's rescue. "When Kyousuke found his Spirit yesterday," he recalled, "his D-Scannr reacted, remember? Maybe that's how we know whose Spirit it is." He and Juan both pulled out their D-Scanners and held them up, but nothing happened.

"So that leaves only one person – Lexi."

* * *

Yellow eyes darted around, taking in the surroundings. She was in some sort of canyon with a deep river. It was rather annoyingly cramped, swimming up the shallow, narrow stream, not like the ocean she was used to. A group of Gomamon swam by. Each of her seven tongues nearly darted out to grab one, but she resisted the impulse. An even bigger meal awaited her if she stayed on task.

Then she saw them. Ten humans, just waiting to be – no, wait. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… where were the others? The Warriors of Wind, Earth, and Water were nowhere in sight. Oh, well. The three of them had no chance of thwarting The Master's plans alone. As long as the other humans were destroyed, The Master would be pleased. To her delight, three of the humans possessed a Spirit each, and a fourth was nearby, unclaimed. Excellent, plenty of power to offer the Master.

Eventually, the remaining humans began to cross the river. Perfect. And there was a bunch of smaller Digimon tagging along with them. They would make quite a tasty side dish.

She rose from beneath the surface, wailing. The Warrior of Wood screamed the loudest as she grabbed him and his friends – all but one; the Warrior of Light had jumped out of reach. He pulled out his strange device, the ones the Warriors used to summon their full power. Quick as a whip, one of her tongues darted out and grabbed it. It tasted awful as it slid down her throat. The Spirit of Water was next; it had a much better flavour. She turned, dove back under, and swam downstream, making sure to keep the humans' heads above the surface. The Master **had** insisted they were still alive when she brought them to him.

And besides, meat always tastes so much better so fresh, it's still screaming as she eats it.

* * *

**Ooh, cliffhanger! Next chapter coming March 27th! **

**"Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing." ~ Lucy Maud Montgomery. **


	3. What It Means To Be A Legendary Warrior

**Hi, sorry this is late.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon. **

**CLAIMER: I own Kyousuke, Lexi, Juan, and Hydramon. **

**"The LORD will keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." ~ Psalm 121:7-8**

* * *

Mmm. Nothing like a strawberry smoothie to wash down a chicken sub. Lexi stood up, brushing the crumbs off her skirt. Only one thing could top this off – ice cream! Maybe some rich chocolate mousse with caramel drizzle and huge brownie chunks.

"You want anything for dessert, Aunt Mitzuki?" she asked.

"Just a small vanilla. But you might want to hurry. You know how I always get sleepy after eating."

"No problem." Lexi wandered over towards the ice cream stand. But before she got there, someone grabbed her by the arm.

It was Kouji. He was nearly doubled over in obvious exhaustion. "Hey," he panted, "We need… your… help."

Lexi pulled her arm free of his grasp. "Forget it," she hissed, "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm staying out of this craziness! I'm not a part of your cute little save-the-universe team! So just leave me **alone**!" She turned to go back, but he stopped her again.

"Listen to me. When this first started, a few of us didn't want to save the world, either. We didn't believe in destiny at all. But trust me, once you're in, you can't get out. And sooner or later, you won't even **want** to leave. Trust me on this: I know what it's like. But if you want to just ignore it, go ahead. Just don't blame the rest of us when everything goes south." He turned back to his car, which Lexi now saw was parked only a few feet away from where they stood.

For some inexplicable reason, Lexi didn't move. "All right. What do you need my help with?"

"An evil Digimon grabbed the others. Izumi and Kyousuke are out of reach, and I can't rescue them all by myself."

"And how am **I** supposed to help? I can't fight. I don't even have a Spirit-thingy."

"We found yours right before that thing attacked us. So are you coming or not?" Lexi hesitated only a little before getting into the car.

* * *

"Where is it?" Lexi looked around, but she couldn't see anything that even remotely resembled a 'Spirit'.

Kouji rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, there's one little thing I kind of left out."

Lexi threw him a glare. "What?"

"The Digimon kind of… ate your Spirit."

"**WHAT**? How could you leave out something so important?"

"Please, like you would've come if I'd told you!"

Lexi sighed loudly. "Fine. Then I guess we'd better start walking." She turned and began walking upstream. For some reason, Kouji didn't follow her.

"We're never going to rescue them if you keep going on like that," he called.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"They went **that** way." Kouji was pointing in the opposite direction.

"Oh." Lexi blushed.

"Hey, what's this thingy?" Neemon asked, picking something up off the ground.

Kouji ran over and grabbed it. "It's Tomoki's D-Scanner!" he exclaimed, "He must've dropped it!" He stuffed the device into his back pocket and started walking. Lexi followed, but nearly tripped over Neemon.

"Maybe these guys should stay behind."

"Nonsense!" Bokomon insisted, "There's a high probability that you will be the next to Spirit Evolve, Lexi. As Keeper of the Book, I simply cannot miss it! And the others will have to come as well. It all goes crazy with them when I'm not around."

Two exasperated sighs. "Fine."

* * *

Kouji was growing impatient. This was one of those times where it felt as if he'd be better off working alone. While he was having no trouble climbing over the wet rocks on the shoreline – even with Bokomon and Neemon nearly choking him half the time – Lexi was lagging behind. Throughout the entire trip so far, she'd been constantly complaining, mostly about the fact that she was wearing high heels. Occasionally, she'd beg him to stop for a break, and he'd repeatedly say no. They had to keep going.

"Geez, how can you actually do this stuff **every day**?" she moaned.

"Practice. We practically do more walking than fighting. You'll get used to it." Lexi slipped and had to grab Kouji's arm to keep from falling flat on her face. "Hopefully soon," he muttered, low enough so that she couldn't hear.

They were silent for the next few minutes, just picking their way along the slippery rocks. The Digimon weren't making it any easier. Of course, Patamon wasn't any trouble; he just flew along beside them. But Neemon often squirmed, and Bokomon would scold him every time he did. And Lexi, clearly not used to carrying two Digimon on her back, would shift her shoulders every couple minutes, causing Salamon and Lopmon to cry out.

"So… how much further?" Lexi finally asked.

"How should I know? I can only tell direction, not distance."

"Well then, how can you tell direction?"

"I'm using Tomoki's D-Tector to track Takuya's."

"I just hope we get there soon," Neemon added, "I think I'm getting shoulder-sick."

"Well, you'd better not get sick all over me!"

"Neemon, don't even think of aiming at me!" Bokomon threatened.

* * *

Eventually, after about half an hour of frustratingly slippery rocks and the occasional huge wave splashing them, Kouji and Lexi finally stopped at the entrance of the dark cave. All the Digimon slid off, Neemon inevitably landing on top of Bokomon, his face green. "All right," Kouji whispered, "We'll go in, and I'll distract it, while the rest of you go and see if you can help the others. Got it?" Lexi nodded seriously. She wasn't all too eager to take on some sea monster Digimon, with or without a Spirit. Kouji pulled out Tomoki's D-Scanner and handed it to her. "Once they're free, Takuya and Tomoki can Spirit Evolve, and then we'll figure things out from there."

"What about you?"

"It took my D-Scanner, too. I'll have to deal with it the old-fashioned way."

"Are you crazy? You'll be fish food!"

"I'll be fine. Just trust me on this."

"Why are you always asking me to trust you? You think I don't already?"

His eyes widened, and an awkward silence filled the air. Lexi never noticed the exact shade of his eyes: deep blue, just like her little sister's favourite dress, the one Lexi had made for her by hand. Alisonne had wanted pink, but Lexi liked that colour. A coughing noise from Bokomon, and a retching sound from Neemon, followed by a cry of disgust from the former, brought the two back to their current situation. The dead-serious expression and Kouji's face returned. "Look, we just have to stick to the plan and pray it all works out, alright?"

The small group slowly crept through the dark, twisting tunnel until it opened up into a large cavern. Lexi gasped at the sight. The cavern was somewhat beautiful; light came from a big crack in the ceiling, reflected off a huge pool of water and illuminated the entire space. But the beauty of the scene was completely tarnished by the various bones scattered about – probably the remains of any poor, unsuspecting Digimon who'd wandered in – and, of course, the huge monster sleeping in the water. It had seven long, snaky heads on seven long, snaky necks. The creature was entirely covered in shiny green scales, even the two huge fins on either side of its body. One mouth hung slightly open, revealing rows of needle-sharp yellow teeth. Bokomon pulled his book from his weird pink body warmer and began flipping through it. "That's Hydramon," he noted, shuddering. Seriously, how did he fit a whole book in there? Lexi felt a light weight on her shoulder and realized it was the little winged Digimon, Patamon. The little guy looked absolutely terrified. He buried his face in her hair, shaking like mad. Lexi couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Poor little guy.

"Look!" Kouji whispered, pointing. Lexi followed his finger to where Takuya, Tomoki, Junpei, Kouichi, Juan, and Shinya were stuck to the wall with some sort of vomit-coloured goop. Shinya was looking rather nervous, and Juan looked close to hyperventilating, while everyone else remained calm.

"Why are your brother and all the old Warriors so relaxed?"

"Because," Bokomon explained, as if it were obvious, "what makes them Legendary Warriors so strong is their belief in not only themselves, but also in each other. They know we're coming to rescue them. They have faith in us."

"Exactly," Kouji added, "We stick together, we look out for each other, and we trust each other. Part of being a Legendary Warrior is being able to trust your teammates with your life, and to be trusted with theirs. You don't abandon the fight just because you're afraid you might not make it, because someone always has your back."

"Has anyone every gotten seriously hurt?" Lexi asked.

A shadow crossed over Kouji's face. "Yeah. In our second fight against this guy Duskmon, I took a bad hit and was out for a long time. That was our last fight with him as a team. The other battles were just one-on-one against me, except Takuya helped me beat him for good."

"Why you?"

Again, Kouji got a weird look on his face. "I-I don't know. He just had it out for me, I guess. Never found out why." Lexi knew he was lying. But now was not the time to get into that.

"I guess it's now or never," she breathed. Right away, Kouji jumped up and quickly crept over to the side opposite their friends, on the other side of the pool. He then picked up a small rock and chucked it at one of the sleeping Hydramon's many heads.

The stone hit the monster's thick skull with a dull _thunk_. Hydramon opened all fourteen eyes – beady yellow ones that sent shivers down Lexi's spine – and glared at Kouji, each head uttering a guttural growl. One dove at him, but Kouji jumped out of the way. The head crashed into the wall, temporarily stunning it.

Bokomon tugged on Lexi's arm. "Now would be as good a time as ever," he hissed. Right, time to get to work. Lexi took a deep breath before hurrying along the cavern's edge. Part of her wanted to just make a mad dash for it, but there was too great a risk of being spotted. By the time she was there, Kouji had the monster's full attention.

Takuya and the others hadn't noticed her; they were all focused on Kouji, too. Shinya nearly jumped out of his skin when she stopped next to him and tapped him on the shoulder. She pressed a finger to her lips and started tugging at the substance gluing him to the wall. Try as she might, she couldn't get him loose. The thick gunk was stubborn, and all she succeeded in was getting her hands covered in it.

A shout came from behind her. Lexi turned to see Kouji flying through the air, tossed by the third head from the left. He hit the ground on her side of the pool, then slowly got up and started running again.

But it was too late. Hydramon had spotted Lexi.

* * *

**Last chapter coming next Friday, but then there won't be anymore from this series until probably summer. Sorry. **

**"A word after a word after a word is power." ~ Margaret Atwood. **


	4. Mizumon Awakens

**This is the last fic of this series until summer. I'm sorry! :( I have a lot of other fics that really need my attention. **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon. **

**CLAIMER: I own Kyousuke, Lexi, Juan, Rochemon, Amphirimon, Mitzuki, Hydramon, The Master, Mantimon, and the two unnamed Digimon. **

**"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. They have no speech, there are no words; no sound is heard from them. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the end of the world." ~ Psalm 19:1-4. **

* * *

Kouichi struggled against the goop pinning his arms to his sides. He'd hoped it was stretchy, but instead it was just like Dad's pitiful attempt at oatmeal this morning: practically solid, yet painfully sticky.

"Lexi, look out!" His brother's shouts echoed throughout the cavern. Kouichi glanced up just in time to see the centremost head coming down right in front of Lexi. Its sticky, slimy tongue shot out and grabbed her, and before anyone could react, it pulled the girl in and swallowed her whole. "LEXI!"

Kouichi could only stare in shock as Hydramon licked her lips – all seven of them – and actually smiled. That monster had just eaten his friend! And now she turned to her next target: Kouji. He wasn't moving at all, just standing there, frozen in apparent shock. The head furthest to the right shot its tongue at him. "Kouji!" Kouichi screamed, "Move!"

A blur passed in front of them, and Hydramon reared back in surprise. Izumi hovered there, in Fairymon form, holding the tongue in both hands. Kyousuke was nearby, too. Also in his warrior form, he stood at the ready. "Didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stick your tongue out at people?" Fairymon asked mockingly, before pulling hard and flying around. That one head was dragged around helplessly, while the other six continuously snapped at her. Eventually, Fairymon let go, and by then, Hydramon's long necks were all tied together in one large, complicated knot.

"Thanks, Izumi," Kouji breathed. Fairymon whipped around and glared at him. "What?"

"How hard is it to call a person when you need their help?" she snapped, "It took us forever to find you guys!"

"I tried calling you, but you were out of range!"

Suddenly, Hydramon began writhing around, gagging. Bright shafts of light came from her mouths. Without warning, she spewed out **a lot** of smelly green mush. Various cries of disgust came from the group. A tall figure covered head to toe in the slime rose up from the mess, and raised one arm towards the water, which rose obediently and formed into a huge tidal wave.

Kouichi held his breath as the wall of water slammed into them. He felt the goo holding him get softer and release its grip. He ripped his arms free and swam for the surface. Kouji, Takuya, and Junpei had already broken free, and were treading water a few feet away. Tomoki soon popped up beside him, quickly followed by Shinya. Fairymon hovered overhead, and Rochemon stood on a stone pillar he'd created. "Nii-san!" Kouji called, swimming over to him, "You okay?" His bandanna had almost slipped off his head.

"I'm fine," Kouichi replied. A much smaller wave hit him in the face. He coughed and sputtered to get the salty water out of his mouth. Looking around, he realized that someone was missing. "Hang on! Juan hasn't come up yet!"

That wasn't their only problem. Hydramon, now untangled and enraged, burst out from beneath the surface, shrieking. She was about to bear down on them when... "OCEAN TEMPEST!" A huge column of water shot up.

Floating on top was a humanoid elfin Digimon with pale green skin, pointed ears, and waist-length dark blue hair. She began moving her arms in a continuous circular motion, creating a huge whirlpool with Hydramon more or less trapped in the middle. Then she turned to face them. "Are you guys okay?" she asked. Koichi had a feeling he knew her, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Fairymon flew over to her and stared her right in the face. "Lexi!" she cried, "I **knew** it!" **That** was Lexi?

"Of course," Kouji murmured, "Hydramon ate the Spirit, so when Lexi got in there, she used it to Spirit Evolve. Hey Bokomon, you know who she is now?" Kouichi looked around and finally spotted Bokomon and the other Digimon, who'd scrambled to a ledge above the waves' reach.

"She's Mizumon!" Bokomon shouted back. He had to shout because Hydramon was making quite a racket. "Ranamon's purified form!"

"Well, now that that's cleared up," Kouichi reminded his brother and friends, "Don't you guys think we should help Juan?" Takuya nodded, and he and Kouichi both dove under. Despite the salt water burning his eyes, Kouichi fought to keep them open. Like everyone else, Juan's bindings had dissolved in the water – ironic, considering where they came from – but he clearly did not know how to swim. He was floating motionlessly, eyes shut, and mouth open. Kouichi swam over and grabbed the boy's left arm, while Takuya took his other side. Together, the two of them pulled him up to the surface. They all gasped as they came up; Juan coughed and hacked, shaking like mad.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Takuya asked him. Juan coughed once more and slowly opened his eyes before nodding.

Fairymon, Iwamon, and Mizumon had been busy. The girls were combining their powers over wind and water to turn Mizumon's whirlpool into a huge, towering twister, with Hydramon caught inside, while Iwamon hurled the occasional rock using an attack he called 'BOULDER WAVE'. Kouji, Tomoki, Junpei, and Shinya had joined Bokomon on their stone ledge. Kouichi and Takuya swam over, still supporting their waterlogged passenger. "Come on, we should Spirit Evolve and help them!" Takuya cried.

"It won't help," Kouji reminded him, "Fire won't do us any good here, and that thing ate my D-Scanner, remember?" All eyes turned to Tomoki.

"Don't look at me," he insisted, "I dropped **mine** when we got snatched."

"Oh, yeah! We found it! … But Lexi has it."

Once everyone was out of the water, their attention shifted back to the fight. Fairymon and Mizumon released Hydramon, and the evil Digimon was now madder than ever. She shrieked at the girls; the sound sent shivers down Kouichi's spine. Fairymon moved forward to attack, but Mizumon stopped her. "I can handle this," she declared. Kouichi was shocked. The last time they'd spoken, she hadn't wanted any involvement with the Digital World. Now she was insisting on fighting a Digimon one-on-one? "Tidal Surge!" A large portion of the water shot towards Hydramon, slamming her into the other side of the cavern. Hydramon snarled, glaring at each one of them, and, finding herself outnumbered, dove under and swam for the cavern exit. Mizumon waved her arms again, shouting: "TIDAL SURGE!" and the waters slowly receded, until it was all back in the pool, and the ledge was about ten feet above the wet ground.

Fairymon, Iwamon, and Mizumon landed easily and returned to their original human forms. "Lexi, that was amazing!" Izumi cried, "The rest of us almost didn't have to do anything! We are **so** going to win this thing with **you** on our side!"

Lexi, who'd been staring at her shoes, looked up suddenly. She glanced at Izumi for a second in apparent disbelief. Kouji jumped off the ledge, landing without a scratch thanks to his years of kendo training. Kouichi slowly began to make his way down with the others, while still not diverting his attention from the conversation. "Yeah, that was really something," Kouji agreed, "I'm just glad you've finally made up your mind. Welcome aboard." He smiled and extended his hand to shake hers. Lexi didn't take it, though. She just stared at it for a second, then mumbled something, so low that Kouichi couldn't make it out. Then, for some reason, she turned and bolted. "Wha- Lexi, wait!" Kouji chased after her. Kouichi, Takuya, Izumi, and Kyousuke followed them. Lexi headed out of the cavern entrance and started scrambling over the rocks. Kouji caught her by the arm in no time, but let go a second later.

Kouichi reached his brother first, bending over in exhaustion after running so far. "Why'd – you – let – her – go?" he panted.

Takuya, Izumi, and Kyousuke stopped right behind him.

Yeah," Takuya agreed, "You had her right there."

"She said she needed to be alone," Kouji replied seriously, "And I know how that feels."

* * *

When a person has something on their mind, it's very easy to tell. The person in question has little attention focused on whatever is going on around them; they don't really hear what you're saying, they might bump into or trip over something in plain sight, it's impossible to have a decent conversation with them, and they often start staring into space.

Terukai noticed this right away, as he majored in psychology. He'd just come to the rec center to practise on his own for a few hours, and found the new kid, Kouji. He was going through an advanced form that Terukai himself had yet to master, but made a few obvious mistakes along the way.

"Hey, Kouji!" he called. Kouji didn't respond. He seemed distracted and distant. "Kouji!" The kid froze, apparently startled. He turned to look at Terukai, like he'd just snapped out of something.

"Oh, hey, Terukai," he muttered, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm guessing I'm here for the same reason you are. Got something on my mind. My sister just dumped this psycho and now he's driving the whole family crazy." That last bit wasn't something he would normally add, but he figured if he was up front and honest, Kouji would respond in a similar fashion. "Anyways, I always come here whenever I want to just think about stuff. So what's up?"

"Oh. Well… there's just a little drama going on with my friends, that's all. Nothing big, though. You're probably not interested." Okay, not as much information as Terukai wanted. This kid knew what game he was playing, and he was actually pretty good at it himself.

"Hey, I just spilled my guts. Now it's your turn."

"It's not a big deal," Kouji protested.

"Then you won't mind telling me what it is."

"Ever consider it's none of your business?" Hands in pockets, Kouji started marching towards the changerooms.

"Okay then, how a bout a little match?" Kouji stopped. "I win, you spill. You win, and we can forget I ever asked." Kouji turned to face him, his expression dead serious. Louis crossed his arms.

"Fine."

Both of them took their positions on the mat. Within twenty seconds, Kouji had found himself beaten. Terukai had counted on it. If there was one thing he prided himself on, besides kendo, it was his uncanny ability to read a person and judge their character. Kouji was a talented fighter, but only when he was focused. If his mind was wandering, like it had been just now, it was almost too easy to beat him.

The two of them left the gym area and headed over to the canteen. They chose a table behind one of the cement pillars holding the ceiling up to avoid the sun's glare as it sank below the horizon.

"Okay, so what's up? Remember, we made a deal."

Kouji sighed and fiddled with his straw. "Fine. A friend of mine… she made a decision that made get her in trouble down the road. And I let her. My other friends aren't all that happy with me. My own twin brother's mad about it!"

Terukai wasn't exactly sure what to say. When he spoke he chose his words very carefully. "I really don't know your friend, but maybe you should have a talk with her."

"It's not that simple."

"Just let her know what she might be getting herself into."

"That's not really the problem. Talking to her at all is a little tricky when I don't even know where to find her." He stared dully at the table, sipping his soda without realizing that he'd already drunken it all.

* * *

"Hydramon, you have failed me," a deep voice declared.

An exhausted and terrified-looking Hydramon bowed low before a large dark figure in the shadows. She screeched in her own language, which only The Master could understand. _"Please, my Lord. They outnumbered me. Please have mercy, and I swear I will not fail you again!"_

A sigh. "Very well. It seems these Legendary Warriors are stronger than I assumed." Several other creatures growled and hissed in fear. Never before had The Master been wrong.

"What do you propose we do, Master?" one asked.

"The Spirits. They are the Warriors' source of power. Spilt up and find them first."

"And the Warriors?" a third, more feminine voice questioned.

"Divide and conquer. They are much stronger together than they will ever be on their own. Separate them and destroy them. Now go, find the Spirits, my servants." Most of the creatures flew, slithered, or crawled away. Even The Master left. Only Hydramon and the third mysterious Digimon remained.

"What a waste," the unknown one spat, "Mantimon may have lost to the Warriors, but at least she did not flee from the battle. You are worthless to The Master's army." And with that, she raised her right arm, and – although it was too dark to see what she was doing – the effects were obvious. Hydramon screeched before being silenced – forever.

* * *

Lexi trudged along beside the train track. She didn't really have any idea where she was going, but she just had some thinking to do, alone.

Her D-Scanner was still in her hand. Kouji's was in her left pocket – she'd grabbed it while in that thing's stomach – ew – and forgotten to give it back to him – and Tomoki's was in her right. Make that another one she'd neglected to return to its owner.

Anyway, she just needed some time to think about this. She was undoubtedly stuck in this mess for good now, but what to do about it? Should she continue to fight for a normal life, or for someone else's world?

* * *

"Ma'am?" the waitress asked, gently shaking the woman who'd fallen asleep in her chair. Mitzuki slowly opened her eyes. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're closing now."

"Oh. Well, I'd better get going, then." She glanced around. "Wait a minute, where's my niece?. She was here with me."

"No one else is here, ma'am." The waitress turned and began clearing glasses off of nearby tables. "You were sitting at that table all alone."

Mitzuki frantically dug her cell phone out of her purse, spilling the contents all over the table, and dialled a number. It only range twice before the automated message came.

'_The number you are trying to reach is currently not available. Please hang up and try again later.'_

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

**So, that's it until summer. Once again, I really am sorry. This is my favourite series, just so you know. Okay, so I only have one other series, which I do love. Speaking of which, here's a preview of the next bit - Avatar Niella 3: Airbending. **

**_Quin wondered how his family would react if they saw where he was right now. Dad would go on and on about how he'd never left the village his entire life, then clap him on the back for fighting alongside the Avatar. Mom would shiver at the thought of him being so far away from home, but remark that she was proud of him. JangTsu would smirk and say something like: "Bring me back some of that blubbered seal-jerky, would ya?" Liya would tell him to put on a coat or something before a froze to death, and Korinn would give him one of her trademark toothy grins, before she wanted to go, too. Little Korinn, always speaking ehr mind, no matter what her opinion was. _**

**_An now she was the last one left. Quin wondered where she was now. Were they feeding her? Was she alone? Did she know her father was dead? Was she even alive? What if Azula and her followers had already killed her? What if they'd already done the deed before Quin and JangTsu had even left the base? _**

**"Life is so****mething that happens to you while you're making other plans." ~ Margaret Eillis Miller. **


End file.
